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Jasmine Thomas
Professor Corri Ditch
English 113 A
30 March 2018
Sidney Stark and Mark Reynolds: Unhappy Men
Imagine yourself sitting down on your couch, or somewhere comfortable whether it’s the Formatted: Highlight

Library or even at Starbucks reading the novel "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society"

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. After so many days, weeks, maybe even months, Formatted: Highlight

you've finally finished reading the whole book. Usually with books (regardless of what genre the

book would be), people tend to share their feedback on how good or bad the book was. But

imagine yourself thinking about this novel on an analytical level. To elaborate, you can ask

yourself, "Who was or wasn't the happiest person in this novel?" If you were to read this novel

again, you can see that Sidney Stark and Mark Reynolds were the main characters that wasn't the

happiest. Because of Sidney’s injury, he Sidney Stark wasn't happy because he was injured in Formatted: Highlight
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Australia but didn't want to show his emotions to Juliet.Juilet;. Aas far well as Mark, he wasn’t
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happy because he didn’t know how to express his emotions so he he would hide his real Formatted: Underline
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emotions and replace them with wealth.

Sidney Stark was one of the main characters that wasn't happy because he broke his leg

while horseback riding. It is known that you can be unhappy from any kind of injury from an

animal.. On page 83, Sidney he briefly, yet finally writes back to Juliet saying, "Dear Juliet— Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
Trip home delayed, fell off horse, broke leg. Piers nursing. Love Sidney” (Stark 83)." On page
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84, Hhe also tells Juliet, "Don't worry-- little pain. Piers excellent nurse. Love Sidney” (Stark Formatted: Highlight

84)." If you summarize both of these quotes overall, he broke his leg on a horse. Do you expect Formatted: Highlight

for someone to believe that you're supposed to get "little pain" from falling off of a horse?
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Absolutely not. Overall, Sidney knows that he's unhappy because of this situation, but he doesn't

want Juliet to know that he's really hurt because he wants to have a professional relationship with

her. Nothing more, nothing less. Why else would he wait until the last minute to tell her this?

According to "The Alchemy of Suffering" by Matthieu Richard, he explains that "Hidden

suffering is concealed beneath the appearance of pleasure, freedom from care, fun." He also

elaborates some more by saying, "This type of suffering may potentially arise at any moment in

life, but it remains hidden to those who are taken in by the illusion of appearances and cling to

the belief that people and things last, untouched by the change that affects everything” (Ricard,

36)." This quote is saying that Hidden Suffering can happen anytime at any second, but it

remains hidden to the people you're close with. This connects to Sidney’s unhappiness because

you can tell from the letter that he was hiding his emotions from the way he brushed off Juliet

This quote is saying that Hidden Suffering can happen anytime at any second, but it remains Formatted: Highlight

hidden to the people you're close with. Also, in another article called "Wearing Masks" by Karyn

Hall, she explains, "Another way of protecting yourself is to behave as if you’re happy all the

time. No one ever knows when your feelings are hurt and to the outside world nothing gets you

down. Happiness covers your real feelings." This quote is explaining how hiding your emotions

is a way of protecting yourself. This relates to Sidney as to why he's not happy because he wants

to be seen as a supportive editor to Juliet but doesn't really know how to actually open up to her

as far as how he's really feeling; or by choice, he doesn't want to open up to her.

Mark Reynolds was also another character in this novel that was not happy. For example,

on page 99, he Mark Renyoldswrites a letter to Juliet which says, "Dear Juliet—You're being Formatted: Highlight

elusive and I don't like it. I don't want to see the play with someone else—I want to go with you.

In fact, I don't give a damn about the play. I'm only trying to rout you out of that apartment.
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Dinner? Tea? Cocktails? Boating? Dancing? You choose, and I'll obey. I'm rarely so docile--

don’t throw away this opportunity to improve my character. Yours, Mark” (Renyolds, 99). ." Formatted: Highlight

This is a sign of Mr. Reynolds being unhappy because he doesn't know to express himself

without money being involved. Since he's rich, he wants to wine and dine with Juliet instead of

actually talking about himself. Even though he really wants to impress Juliet, there are other way

he could impress her. Another reason why Mr. Reynolds is unhappy because he's showing a sign

of cockiness. If you look back at the last quote, he's showing this by telling Juliet to not take

away this opportunity to improve his character.

According to "The Sources of Happiness" by His Holiness the Dali Lama and Howard

Cutler, they both state that "As long as there is a lack of the inner discipline that brings calmness

of mind, no matter what external facilities or conditions you have, they will never give you the

feeling of joy and happiness that you are seeking." To summarize this quote in other words,

regardless if you feel like you're happy because of wealth or materialistic things, you're really not

happy. Also, in another article called, "How Money Changes the Way We Think and Behave" by

Carolyn Gregoire, she states that, "There is no direct correlation between income and happiness.

Extremely affluent people actually suffer from higher rates of depression." Overall, Mark is

unhappy deep down because he feel like money is the best way for him to express himself

instead of actually being himself.he rather throws money everywhere but doesn't know how to Formatted: Highlight

control his emotions.

Both of these men are showing signs of unhappiness that are unreal. With Sidney Stark,

it's because of actual pain from falling off a horse, and with Mark Renyolds, it's because of the

fortune. Having to deal with these issues can be very hard for people to deal with. I myself have

felt unhappy with my life. Out of both of these characters, I can relate myself to Sidney Stark
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because when it comes to pain, I'm a very private person that hides their pain when it comes to

the people I love. Overall, these steps can be very helpful in your everyday life. Sidney Stark and

Mark Reynolds should've followed these steps because they would've been happier than they

were before. But in conclusion, Sidney Stark and Mark Reynolds were very unhappy in "The

Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Society."

Before I close off this essay, I would like to state 6 steps in particular (According to Formatted: Highlight

Minda Zetlin's "11 Simple Ways to Make Yourself Happy Everyday") on how to get your

happiness back if you're starting to feel depressed, or even if you're confused on how to be

genuinely happy.

The first step is to commit to do one nice thing for yourself every day. If you make the Formatted: Highlight

commitment of doing that, that means you’re treating yourself with kindness.

The second step is to listen to yourself. In other words, listen to how you talk to others

and the internal voice you use. If you speak a certain way, that can improve your mood.

The third step is to forgive yourself. Forgiveness is really hard to do, especially if you

keep doing something wrong on accident and sometimes on purpose. Beating yourself up over

the wrongs you've committed in your life is not healthy. At some point, you have to forgive

yourself and understand that nobody's perfect. Loving yourself means accepting that you’re stuck

inside your own imperfect skin.

The fourth step is to eliminate toxic people in your life. There's no reason to put up with

somebody with unnecessary negative energy. You have to surround yourself with family and

friends that has a positive purpose for your life and theirs as well.
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The fifth step is to not forget to breathe, as far as taking deep breaths. When you're

feeling stressed or upset, breathing exercises can help your mood change drastically. Also, that’s

one of the ways to not make you sick.

The last step is to give yourself some sunlight. Going out for a walk on a sunny day can

help you not think or prevent you from doing anything negative. You can even listen to some

calming music to increase your mood as well.

Overall, these steps can be very helpful in your everyday life. Sidney Stark and Mark Formatted: Highlight

Reynolds should've followed these steps because they would've been happier than they were

before. But in conclusion, Sidney Stark and Mark Reynolds were very unhappy in "The

Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Society."

Works Cited

Parfitt, Matthew, and Dawn Skorczewski. Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. Boston:

Bedford/St. Martin's, a Macmillan Education Imprint, 2016.

Lama, Dali, and Howard C. Cutler. The Art of Happiness. Hachette Austrailia, 2018

Richard, Matthiew. Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skills." Little Brown and

Company. 2007

Zetlin, Minda. "11 Simple Ways to Make Yourself Happy Every Day." Inc.com. Inc., 10 June 2014. Web. 02

Apr. 2018.

Hall, Karyn. "Wearing Masks." Psych Central.com. N.p., 09 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2018.

Gregoire, Carolyn. "This Is Your Brain On Money." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Dec.

2017. Web. 02 Apr. 2018.

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